Longboard Dimensions Explained

Just like people, Longboard decks come in all shapes and sizes. Understanding longboard dimensions will help you choose the right board for the type of skating you enjoy the most.

Here’s a breakdown of the deck to help you understand what these terms mean:

Longboard Dimension: Length

This is the most obvious when you are looking for a board. The longer the board, the more stable it will ride and the more room there is for your feet. Cornering becomes slower with longer boards in general because the wheelbase is typically longer.

Board Width

The wider the board, the more stable it is to ride. Wider boards give your feet a larger platform which gives your more room to lean forwards and backwards initiating carves. The main issue with a wider board is the truck width and wheel size. Larger wheels and narrower trucks lead to wheel bite unless you add spacers to make your board sit higher above the trucks. Narrower boards typically don’t have this issue.

Wheelbase

The most overlooked longboard dimension is the wheelbase. This is the distance between your wheels. The closer this is the faster and snappier a board will turn, but the less stable it will ride. A wide wheelbase makes a board great for carving because of the added stability enabling the skater to lean further over each turn.

Standing Platform

This is similar to wheelbase but it’s the area of the deck that’s solid for standing. On a pintail the platform is much longer because you have a wide deck over the trucks so you can actually stand further back and forwards for more stability. It’s the same reason that pintails are more stable. Dropthrough longboards allow the trucks to stick through the board and bring the platform in further. They are also much narrower at the tip and tail. On a drop through the standing platform is smaller than the wheelbase.

All of these factors make a huge difference in the way a board rides. However, everything also changes depending on which hardware you use. Different trucks will sit higher, have a wider wheel base, and the width of the truck will vary. Wheels adjust height as well and affect traction. We recommend first finding the right deck and then building a board based on the style of skating you prefer.